In Real Life
by BerryMocha
Summary: Bella met Edward online. They were friends and partners in a massive online multiplayer game. Lately Bella discovered that their connection existed beyond the game. But could their relationship survive in real life?


_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight and its characters._

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><p><strong>In Real life<strong>

I knew from the moment I pressed the call bottom that this was a bad idea. My hand was sweating so much - my cell phone was going to slip out of it.

I was finally calling Vampire1901, no, Edward, he said his name was Edward. Not sure that's even his real name. I told him my name was "Ella"-another stupid move. I already gave him my cell phone number, he could easily track me down and find out my real name. He could get very mad if he found out I lied. He could be tracking me down right now. What if he was a 40 year old pervert?

I panicked and hit the end call bottom so hard.

I had never contacted any strangers I met online before. Heck, I didn't even talk to strangers in public places in real life. I met Edward in one of those free massive online multiplayer games. I just got my first laptop for my 17th birthday , and that meant freedom of browsing the internet in my bedroom instead of in the living room. Time to explore the fun. It's not like I look at any restricted stuff on the internet, except I maybe occasionally stared out of space at the surreal six-pack of a particular werewolf actor on the computer screen. And now I could avoid that awkward moment when my Dad _unintentionally_ sneaking up on me.

Edward found me when I was being smashed by some stone monsters. I was on a quest to obtain a magical ingredient that could save a girl in the nearby village. It sounded lame but I was feeling pretty heroic. In the game, I carried a long sword, kind of like that vengeful bride in Kill Bill, in a medieval-ish armor. I knew most female players preferred to attack from a range as a mage or archer, but I loved playing the warrior, loved to get the close action and to see my 3D hands and feet slicing and kicking the monsters. Those were things I would never ever do in real life. I wouldn't dare to step on a real spider.

So there I was, getting smashed by those brownie- looking trolls, survival rate zero. Not a big deal, I got killed almost every 20 minutes. But still, I was holding my breath, clicking my mouse like crazy and bracing myself as my health bar dropped. Suddenly, a bright purple blue light shined from above me and I heard a delightful sound of harmony as my health restored to full. I looked up (adjusted my screen angle with my mouse), and saw this healer with giant black wings in the sky. And that was Edward, he flew by, saw the pathetic dying me, casted a healing spell on me and saved my life. He also landed by my side and helped me defeated the monsters.

That was the nicest thing people in game ever did to me. I immediately friended him. Vampire1901. The conversation went a bit like this.

swan_huntress: A vampire healer, huh?

Vampire1901: yeah

swan_ huntress: going to turn me?

Vampire1901: no

swan_ huntress: want to team up?

Vampire1901: yeah

I got a sweet deal. Edward's level was higher than me, so questing was much easier. We made a good team. I was on the frontline killing things and he's in the sky casting some divine healing light on me and keeping me alive. We both got game points and I felt pretty badass and…safe.

We played together almost every night. We didn't talk much. We knew each other's gender because we exchanged first names. Well, fake first name on my side. We both leveled up and the gamers started to take us seriously. Apparently the game was like a gang society or something, the kind of gang in my brain anyway. They called us the "swan couple". We both said nothing about that nick name.

One day, a warlock challenged the truthfulness about me being a girl.

"Chicks don't play warriors and play so well."

Wow, that's such a flattery and an insult! I was about to rage on my keyboard, but Edward typed faster.

"Don't assume. She's good with her sword. I suggest you watch out."

Then all I could do was blushing. Good thing he couldn't really see me and my 3D warrior only knew how to stand there and look sexy.

We often played together until 1 p.m. I would do my homework on school bus and before dinner. I didn't even watch the news with my Dad anymore, making all kinds of excuses and rushing to my bedroom to login my fantasy world. At first I would set my alarm clock early so I could wake up and finish up my homework. Then I got so tired I just turned in whatever I had.

"Wow, Bella had gone dark side," Alice, my best friend, announced after class one day.

"What?" I sounded more annoyed than I meant to. I blamed it on the lack of sleep.

"You dosed off during English honors. You'd never dosed off in a class, ever, in your entire life. " Alice's eyes grew wider, adding the dramatic effect.

"It's not that bad," I chuckled.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" She looked a bit concerned.

"A laptop happened."

"Are you sure? I sense a boy kept you up all night!" She smiled wryly.

"Not really," I would come up a smarter comment if I was less tired.

"Be careful, Bella, this guy is dangerous," Alice couldn't keep a straight face whenever she pretended to be serious.

"Is that the case? I thought a psychic is supposed to tell you the good news."

"Those are frauds. A real psychic tells you the truth and gives good warnings," she said.

"Well, your warnings are invalid," I shrugged. "There's no potential danger."

Or was there? Edward couldn't be one. He's online and probably lived in another state. But my up-coming report card might be a threat. Dad was not going to be happy seeing the Bs and a possible C on there.

Vampire1901 wasn't online that night. I soloed for an hour and died twice. I needed that pretty blue light on my head. A nice mage with blonde hair actually offered to kill a boss together with me, but I refused. I told him I was waiting for my friend.

A friend that I knew nothing about. But it just didn't feel right to team up with anyone else. We were the "swan couple" after all, whatever that meant.

I soon got bored soloing while anxiously refreshing my friend list to see if Vampire1901 was online. But he never showed.

I gave up the game at midnight and force myself to do some homework before sleeping. What happened to Edward? Was he sick? Was his internet out? Maybe he got in an accident. Maybe that's why he didn't bother to let me know he's not going to be online. But it's not like we had an appointment. I was just a game partner – no one important to him at all. He didn't need to let me know anything. Maybe he had a date tonight?

"Gosh! Stop! Concentrate on homework," I said to myself. Then I realized.

I missed him.

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><p>AN: Hi, I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Feedbacks are loved!

In the next chapter, I will get to how the call between Bella and Edward went. I plan to update often with short chapter and the plot will be more "zoomed in" after this chapter. :)


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